Cowlishaw: Significance of Cowboys' win can't be found in the standings

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Tom Fox/Staff Photographer

Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94) laid teammate Jerry Brown Jr's jersey over his thigh as he joined the prayer circle following their 20-19 win at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Sunday, December 9, 2012. The jersey was laid over the bench through out the game. Jerry Brown Jr. was killed in an auto accident early Saturday morning in Irving.

“Football is very different from life. This is a life situation. We lost a 25-year-old man who had his whole life in front of him.”

— Cowboys coach Jason Garrett

CINCINNATI — Even in the best of times in 2012, the Cowboys have demonstrated how tough it can be to win a football game. This was the worst of times … and it had little to do with playing on the road against a confident opponent with a winning record.

The Cowboys put aside their grief, their confusion and perhaps some measure of anger to rally from nine points down in the final seven minutes to upset the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-19, at Paul Brown Stadium.

When Dan Bailey lined up for the winning 40-yard field goal on the final play, Jason Hatcher held the jersey of teammate Jerry Brown aloft on the sideline.

Brown died early Saturday morning in Irving. He was the passenger in the car driven by nose tackle Josh Brent, who spent Saturday night in an Irving jail cell before posting $500,000 bond Sunday afternoon. Brent faces a charge of intoxication manslaughter that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

These awful circumstances produced a range of conflicting emotions in friends and teammates. Brown was on the Cowboys’ practice squad the last five weeks. Undoubtedly, some of the players barely knew him. But Garrett spoke of how Brown’s enthusiasm for being part of the Cowboys organization energized him and others.

“You know, I walk around the building saying, ‘How you doing, guys’ all the time, but I could never beat him. Jerry would always say, ‘How you doing, Coach’ before I could get it out,” Garrett said.

Brown’s closest friend was Brent, his teammate and roommate at the University of Illinois. The Cowboys took Brent in a 2010 supplemental draft after he had been charged with DUI at Illinois.

Apparently it was not a lesson learned. And now, in addition to the smaller consequence of almost certainly not playing football again this season, Brent must face a felony charge in court and also learn to live with having been responsible for the death of a close friend.

“This was a step in the healing process for us,” defensive end Marcus Spears said. “But we haven’t dealt with a lot yet — remembering Jerry and keeping his memory alive, dealing with Josh and supporting him in whatever way we can. That’s still to come.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he has been in contact with Brown’s mother and that plans have been made to hold a memorial service for him Tuesday. He also pledged support for Brent, who would have started Sunday because of Jay Ratliff’s injury.

When asked about the tackle’s apparent decision to drive while intoxicated, Jones said, “It’s so mind-boggling to think that two lives could be impacted under those circumstances.”

And yet lives are impacted in exactly that manner every day. They don’t always involve NFL players, of course, although DUI charges have been one of the league’s bigger problems with young players.

This accident happened so close to Sunday’s game, with players learning of it less than 24 hours before kickoff, that, as Spears indicated, bigger challenges lie ahead.

But on Sunday, a team that was already thin on healthy defensive players — and became even more limited during the game when cornerback Morris Claiborne and, for a shorter time, linebacker Anthony Spencer were injured — held the Bengals to one first-quarter touchdown.

Surrendering yards and field goals, the Cowboys stayed close enough that they remained in contention into the fourth quarter, then became very much alive on a Dez Bryant touchdown with 6:35 to play.

Whether this is a win that leads to an NFC East title or sparks a run to the final wild-card spot remains to be seen. They still require help from others in either case.

This was more about channeling the rawest of emotions into something positive as they remembered Jerry Brown.

“He loved being part of our team and he showed it every day,” Garrett said. “Twenty-five years old and he’s no longer with us. That’s hard for everyone to handle.

“I think there was a feeling of numbness out there on the football field. But I’m never going to forget how this team came together and honored Jerry Brown.”

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About Tim Cowlishaw

Tim Cowlishaw has been The Dallas Morning News' lead sports columnist since July 1998. Prior to that he covered the Cowboys for six seasons and the Stars for three as a beat reporter. He also covered the Rangers as a backup beat writer and was the San Jose Mercury News' beat writer on the San Francisco Giants in the late 1980s.

Tim has been appearing regularly on ESPN"s "Around the Horn" since the show made its debut in November 2002. He also worked with ESPN as part of the network's "NASCAR Now" coverage in 2007-08.

Favorite Dallas restaurants: Park, Nick and Sam's, Kenichi.

Worst sports prediction: His first in college ... that Earl Campbell had no shot at the Heisman Trophy.

Best sports memories: Seeing the Dallas Stars hoist the Stanley Cup long after midnight in Buffalo, watching the Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl and Texas win the national title in perfect Rose Bowl settings.